As most all avid sport fishermen know, the science and art of attracting fish and catching them is embroidered with innumerable imaginative gadgets and strategies, the efficacy of which is often the subject of unsubstantiated hyperbole. Frequently, part of the entertainment of the sport involves individualistic evaluation of the assertions of fellow aficionados.
The seemingly endless proliferation of lures and rigs of many forms and the employing of many techniques continue to be legion, and probably will always be, but such is the nature of those who pursue the usually invisible fish in its natural environment.
There is, of course, certain well established facts that are cornerstones of the fishing avocation. Among the most prominent is the fact that many varieties of fish are predators and feed on smaller fish. Therefore, we can quickly recognize that predator fish can be attracted by imitating the type of smaller fish upon which the predators feed.
The present invention provides a very carefully designed trolling rig and a method of combining same with bait that is especially intended for use with a certain bait fish that is commonly known as a ballyhoo. The ballyhoos that are usually sold for bait are quite uniform in size and, therefore, can be used with the present invention. The present invention provides a conical cap that is made, preferably by molding, to resemble the head of a ballyhoo and which has a hollow cavity of a size and shape that will be compatible with the size and shape of the head of a bait ballyhoo. This conical cap, which is preferably molded or cast from a dense material, is closed at the front with a leader being attached unobtrusively to the leading edge of the cap. Another leader is unobtrusively attached to the rear lower edge of the conical cap, and a hook is connected to the other end of this rear leader.
The dense material is preferred, although not essential, because it is thus heavier than the water in which the rig and bait are immersed and towed for trolling purposes. The dense material therefore acts as a weight. The intent is to resemble a bait fish swimming in its natural environment, and that is not at the surface of the water. It is, of course, well established that an unweighted lure that is towed by a surface vessel will rise to the surface, or same level as the vessel, if it is neutrally buoyant. Thus, use of a dense material for molding the conical cap minimizes or eliminates the need to use a separate weight, making the structure more realistic to the predatory game fish sought to be attracted. The dense material is preferably lead.
As noted above, a forward leader is attached to the front of the conical cap, and the front end of the forward leader has an eye or swivel attached thereto so that the leader may be attached to a fishing line in the conventional manner. The method aspects of the invention distinguish sharply over many prior art devices. To use the invention, a bait fish such as a ballyhoo is selected. The pointed bill of the ballyhoo, if ballyhoo is used, is broken off by the user, the head of the bait ballyhoo is inserted into the cavity of the conical cap and a locking pin is inserted vertically through the opening in the top of the cap. The locking pin which cannot be removed from the rig, passes through the head of the bait fish at an angle, the pin angle being directed toward the front of the cap, and the bait fish is thus locked securely in the conical cap. A fish hook that is attached to the rear end of the rear leader is imbedded in the body of the bait fish so it is hidden from view. When the present invention is so assembled, a very smooth and symmetrical bait form is created and the rig will pass through the water in a natural manner, without unnatural gyrational movement, and will serve to better attract predatory game fish. The leader projecting from the leading edge of the front cap replaces in appearance the bill of the ballyhoo that has been broken off to use the rig, thus preserving the natural appearance of the bait fish.
Although there has been much activity in this field for many years, a recent search of the prior art of record indicates that the present invention is novel in concept and construction.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,645,031 by Egles et al. teaches a device that, while generally similar to the present invention, is specifically different in a number of ways. Egles et al. teaches an apparently lightweight cap, open at the front end and appears to be of sheet metal construction. The open front end unlike the present invention can allow water to enter the mouth of the bait fish, causing the same to become bloated when being towed through the water. The fishing line or a leader is visibly attached to the cap at the front, thus destroying the natural resemblance of this rig to a bait fish in its active environment. The disclosure of Eoles et al. also differs from the natural appearance of the bait fish by reason of the externally visible locking pin 25, the ends of which are apparent on both sides of the bait fish when the rig and bait fish are locked together. Moreover, the horizontal direction with which the locking pin 25 is deployed require insertion through the eyes of the bait fish, requiring insertion of the head of the bait fish in precisely the correct orientation and to the precise depth to align the eyes with holes 22 or 23 as described by the Egles et al. specification. This contrasts sharply with the present invention or depth of bait fish insertion judgment or skill.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,133,132 by Ellis et al. teaches a blunt cap having two holes in the front face. The rig is designed to oscillate during trolling. The action may be varied by passing the leader through one hole or the other. The present invention, by contrast, is purposely streamlined to avoid oscillation and the leader always remains in the center and is not removable. Most importantly, the Ellis et al. device does not make any significant effort to resemble a bait fish in its natural environment and assumes the predatory game fish has inadequate vision to detect that the herring bait fish has no head. The herring is supposed to appear wounded, of course, and it is curious how any fish "wounded" by the loss of its head could swim at all. Ellis et al. is clearly a lightweight device.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,415,004 by Whalen teaches a structure very much unlike the present invention, being open at both ends and having attaching means that are not positioned with the center line or axis of the bait. Most obviously, the device of Whalen makes no effort to appear as a bait fish in a natural environment, the bait being circumscribed by a highly unnatural harness, being accompanied on its swim with a plurality of unappetizing hooks and enough attaching hardware to look like spaghetti. See, for example, FIG. 2 of the disclosure. The device of Whalen appears to be fabricated from sheet metal and wire, is apparently lightweight and makes no assertion regarding material density or a weight function.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,763,086 by Johnson et al. teaches a head or head piece that has an open slot at the top for insertion of a portion of a leader wire, the leader wire passing freely through the cap and having a hook attached to the rearward end. It does not teach the features of the present invention, which lack an open slot at the top. Johnson et al. also teaches apertures 20 which must be registered with the eyes of the bait fish in the disadvantageous manner described for the Egles et al. reference distinguished above. Numerous aspects of the Johnson et al. device damage any effort to make it appear to resemble a bait fish in its natural environment. Examples are the longitudinal slot 16 angled locking notches 18, projecting locking pin 21 (see FIG. 6), projecting end portion 11 of the leader also used as a locking pin (see FIG. 5), rubber band 22 (see FIG. 6), etc. The manner of locking the bait fish to rig also differs significantly in the way the Egles et al. does, plus the use of projecting end portion 11 of the leader as such a device. Johnson et al. includes a head or head piece 12 which is flexible, being preferably formed of plastic, and is specifically recited to be lightweight, eschewing any assertion of dense material that would constitute a weight. However, the most striking distinction of Johnson et al. with the present invention is the large number of steps that are recited in using the device disclosed, as opposed to the form required for the method of present invention. These numerous steps are necessitated by the structure of the Johnson et al. device, and some ten are indicated in Column 2, line 69, to Column 3, line 37. The present invention is designed to be easily used, only four easy steps, hereinafter described, being used, greatly speeding up the baiting process to maximize fishing time, and requiring no manual dexterity or skill.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,067,135 by Martin discloses a bait holding device for holding live, dead and artificial bait. Martin teaches a cap with a closed front but, unlike the present invention, it has a diving vane at the front that is supposed to cause the rig to run deeper in the water, and includes an eyelet mounted on the vane for attachment of a leader or a fishing line. A rearward treble hook is attached to the rear of the cap at the open end by separate means. The Martin reference also differs from the present invention by significant variations in appearance from natural bait fish. These variations include the treble hook that cannot be embedded in the bait fish body and the diving vane which, especially when viewed from above or below, (see FIG. 2 and 3) destroys the appearance of a natural bait fish. Furthermore, although the diving vane, described as isosceles triangular number 28, is intended by Martin to control the trolling depth of his rig, mere observation indicates that it represents an addition to the remaining rig structure that is dynamically unstable and would result in the rig spinning or otherwise acting in an unnatural manner for a bait fish.
As set forth in the foregoing comparisons, it may be concluded that the structure of present invention presents a novel and useful departure from the structure of the prior art. Furthermore, it presents a structure intended to be fast and easy to use by persons having no particular fishing or manual dexterity skills. There is thus presented an inventive method of use comprising only four quick steps when ballyhoo is the bait fish, and only three when it is not. They are: (1) breaking the bill off of a ballyhoo, (2) inserting the head of the ballyhoo all the way into the conical cap, (3) pushing the locking pin all the way into the body of the ballyhoo to hold it securely in the conical front cap, and (4) embedding the hook into the body of the ballyhoo.
Although but a few of the novel features of the present invention have been described, the novelty and usefulness of the invention will become more apparent after a reading to the summary and detailed descriptions that follow.